Nicaraguan Growers Explore Shipping Possibilities at Port Everglades

Port Everglades recently hosted 25 of the leading fruit and vegetable growers from Nicaragua arranged by Crowley Maritime in cooperation with Michigan State University's John Allen, Professor Emeritus of Food Marketing. An all-day program, including a landside bus tour, was conducted to help the growers prepare and understand the distribution logistics and export procedures needed to ship their products via Port Everglades. Currently, none of these growers are exporting to the United States.

Port Everglades staff, Crowley Maritime staff and Professor Allen escorted the bus tour, which included visiting the relevant terminals in the Port, including the Crowley terminal, to assist in getting first-hand views of operations.

"We are excited for the chance to bring in new business from Nicaragua," said Port Director Phillip C. Allen. "Fruits and vegetables are already among the top five commodities brought into Port Everglades from countries south of us. We're proud to play a part in providing the residents of Broward County with such tasty natural foods."

The group's week-long mission began with a visit to Port Everglades as well as travel to San Diego to attend the annual Produce Marketing Association trade show.

Port Everglades, ranked as one of the fastest growing container seaports in the eastern United States according to the PIERS import/export database, is a world-class cargo handling facility that serves as an ideal point of entry for products shipped to and from Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe and more recently the Far East. The Port has direct access to the interstate highway system, is within two miles of the FEC rail hub and is just one mile from the Atlantic Shipping Lanes. Ongoing capital improvements and expansion ensure that Port Everglades will have the ability to handle the Port's growing container traffic.

More information about Broward County's Port Everglades is available on the Internet at http://www.broward.org/port or by calling 954-523-3404.